At 14, my father told me I'm his business partner: Mukesh Ambani

A glimpse into the workings of Mukesh Ambani’s mind and his reflections on a variety of subjects, spanning from his student days to working with — and getting bossed around by — gen next.

When the Reliance Group chairman sat in the interviewee’s chair at a recent event hosted by veteran media man Shekhar Gupta in Mumbai, he took questions on subjects as wide ranging as business, films and legacy from the audience. Here are a few highlights of a freewheeling interaction with India’s richest man:

Ideas reign supreme“The world has moved to the power of ideas. I always say this to all our young people that there were times when only monarchs orgovernments could do and change things for the people. Then it moved to large corporations. Today, five people in a new start-up cannot only change a country, but the entire world.”

According to Mukesh Ambani, ​Kunal Bahl’s Snapdeal and Sachin Bansal’s Flipkart have redefined the way business is done around the world. (Image: Agencies)

Vision: an inheritance or learning?“It’s not what can or cannot be taught. It’s how you develop the hunger to learn. To my mind, a lot of it is connected with my father’s philosophy: ‘Always keep the average age of Reliance at 30’.

When I joined Reliance, we were Rs 18 crore in terms of size. In my first year, we did an IPO, which was Rs 1.8 crore and I am still very, very proud of it. So through the 40 years, I have learnt how to build the hunger to learn. If you actually build it, you can pretty much learn anything. That is what we have noticed time and time again.”

Learning from Akash and Isha

Mukesh Ambani says his children Isha and Akash have helped him learn new things in business. (Image: BCCL)

“This is a true story. Isha went to Yale and came back and said, ‘Dad, the internet in our house sucks’. This was in 2010. She said, ‘At Yale, I do everything on the internet, and I can’t do anything from home’. [Another time] Akash said, ‘You think you are getting into a new business. Dad, you won’t get it’. So I said okay. He said, ‘In your world, only when one person phones another person, and only when the other person picks up, do you charge and make some returns. There are only so many million people who talk to so many million people. In my world, I just talk to a server. There is never a no-reply and all of us are connected’.

This is true for all our 30-year olds at Jio. It has been a huge learning experience. That’s why I think ceding to the next generation is always a good idea.”

Partnering with the next genAs far as the next generation is concerned, I think that I have learnt from my father. From early on, he treated me as a partner. And when I was about 14, he said, you are not under training. You are my partner and this is your responsibility. That’s what I have done with the next generation. And for me the next generation is not only my own children, but the 30-year olds that work at Reliance. When we have given them this partnership mindset, the results are magical. They have always exceeded our expectations. At least, my own children and my 30-year olds in Jio are quite used to overruling me. I am getting used to being overruled every now and then. My children boss over me. It’s a new life. It’s good for me.

Mukesh Ambani with his wife Nita Ambani during the opening ceremony of Jio MAMI 18th Mumbai Film Festival in Mumbai. (Image: PTI)

On being ‘ragged’ by peers“When I got into IIT, I was bright and got in on my own merit. But, when you go to the hostel, you get ragged. You have to take it in the right spirit. There is a principal and there is an eco-system. There is a governance system. I have no problem as long as I, or Reliance gets ragged. We are big boys, we can take it. But the consumer should not suffer. I have enough faith in the maturity of our operators and our governance system, that at the end of the day, we can always inspire each other.”

Man who has made history“It is important not to have the attitude ke isne kiya to yeh accha nahi hai (If he has done it, it won’t be good). I think that the work that my friend Nandan Nilekani has done (with regard to Aadhaar) will go down in history. When your children are citizens of India, they will say there was one Nilekani who did phenomenal work in 2009 putting India on the digital map in terms of financial inclusion”

Jio’s Rs 2,399 annual plan offers 2GB per day data that costs effectively Rs 200 per month. It also offers unlimited voice and SMS. Airtel and Vodafone Idea’s Rs 2398 and Rs 2399 annual plans, on the other hand, offer 1.5GB per day data along with unlimited voice and SMS